How to Remove Tough Baby Stains

Life with baby is messy to say the least. Before you toss your spit-up-stained blouse or baby’s pee-covered onesie, read this. We consulted Steve Boorstein from ClothingDoctor.com to get expert tips on removing even the toughest stains.

Poop
Wipe off any poop with a spoon or dull knife and pretreat the stain with a stain remover like Spray 'N Wash. Let it sit on the garment for five minutes before tossing it in the washing machine. Check the stain after it goes through the wash. If it looks like it didn’t come out fully, don’t put it in the dryer—air-dry it instead, since the dryer can actually set the stain. For lingering stains, soak the garment in color-safe bleach for at least 30 minutes to get rid of any last poop traces.

Pee
Rinse the clothing in cold water and toss it into the washing machine as soon as you can! Pee is usually super easy to remove, as long as it doesn’t sit too long, and it doesn’t need to be treated with a stain remover, either.

Spit-up
Rinse the garment in cold water and use a stain remover before tossing it in the washing machine. If it’s a big spit-up stain, you may want to soak it in warm water and detergent for 15 minutes first. Depending on what baby ate, the stain should come out easily. If it’s still there after you wash and air-dry it, soak the garment in color-safe bleach.

Blood
Rinse the clothing in cold water and use a stain remover before putting it in the washing machine. Air-dry. If it’s still there, treat the stain with hydrogen peroxide—it’s mild, so it won’t change the color of the garment and works well to get out blood.